WO2023095586A1

WO2023095586A1 - Card assessment device, card assessment method, program, and card identification system

Info

Publication number: WO2023095586A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/041052
Authority: WO
Inventors: 誠恩塚
Original assignee: 日本ノーベル株式会社
Priority date: 2021-11-26
Filing date: 2022-11-02
Publication date: 2023-06-01
Also published as: JP7470330B2; JP2023078859A

Abstract

The present invention carries out rapid and highly accurate assessment of trading cards.　A program for assessing the contents of a trading card, the program causing a computer to execute: a step of accepting input of a card type of a subject trading card to be assessed; a step of extracting a feature image including a specific design from a card image obtained by optically reading the subject trading card, to identify a series to which the subject trading card belongs on the basis of the extracted feature image; a step of extracting a feature amount from the card image of the subject trading card, and checking the extracted feature amount against a feature amount database to identify the contents of the subject trading card; and a step of displaying the contents of the subject trading card on a display device.

Description

Card assessment device, card assessment method, program, card identification system

The present invention relates to a card identification device, a card identification method, a program, and a card identification system used when assessing the contents of trading cards.

Trading cards are cards with various designs and are widely used for the purpose of exchange and collection, or for playing games using cards. In addition, trading cards that are no longer needed are purchased and sold to other users. At stores that buy and sell such cards, users who wish to sell them often bring in a large number of trading cards at once, and there is a need for technology that can quickly and accurately assess the purchase price. (See, for example, Patent Document 1). Trading cards have almost the same design, but due to slight differences such as differences in some parts or differences in surface finishing, the market value varies greatly despite the design being almost the same. Therefore, the purchase price may differ. Even in such cases, there is a need for a technology that can perform assessments quickly and with high accuracy.

JP 2014-215930 A

One of the purposes of the specific aspects of the present invention is to provide a technology that can quickly and accurately evaluate trading cards.

[1] A program according to one aspect of the present invention is a program for assessing the contents of a trading card having a plurality of card types with different themes and a plurality of series for each card type, comprising: (a) a first step of receiving an input of the card type of the target trading card to be assessed; and (b) a card image obtained by optically reading the target trading card. a second step of extracting a feature image and specifying the series to which the target trading card belongs based on the extracted feature image; (c) extracting a feature amount from the card image of the target trading card, a third step of identifying the content of the target trading card by collating the extracted feature amount with a feature database; and (d) displaying the content of the target trading card specified in the third step. and a fourth step to display .
[2] A card assessment method according to one aspect of the present invention is executed by a computer for assessing the contents of a trading card having a plurality of card types with different themes and a plurality of series for each card type. (a) a first step of receiving input of the card type of a target trading card to be assessed; a second step of extracting a feature image containing a pattern and specifying the series to which the target trading card belongs based on the extracted feature image; a third step of identifying the contents of the target trading card by extracting and comparing the extracted feature amount with a feature database; (d) the target trading card specified in the third step; and a fourth step of displaying the contents on a display device.
[3] A card assessment device according to one aspect of the present invention is a device for assessing the contents of a trading card having a plurality of card types with different themes and a plurality of series for each card type. (a) a reception unit for receiving an input of the card type of the target trading card to be assessed; and (b) a characteristic image including a specific design from the card image obtained by optically reading the target trading card. and (c) extracting a feature amount from the card image of the target trading card and extracting the extracted feature amount from the card image of the target trading card. (d) a display control unit for displaying the identified contents of the target trading card on a display device; and a card assessment device.
[4] A card assessment system according to one aspect of the present invention is connected to (a) the card assessment device described in [3] above, and (b) the card assessment device, and optically checks the target trading card. (c) an optical reading device that reads the card image and supplies the card image to the card assessment device; and an external server that transmits to the card assessment device.

According to the above configuration, there is provided a technology that can quickly and accurately evaluate trading cards.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the card assessment system of one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the card assessment device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a computer system used in the card assessment device. FIG. 4A is a diagram for explaining the configuration of card types and series of trading cards. FIG. 4B is a diagram schematically showing a configuration example of a trading card pattern. FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the card characteristics device. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen displayed on the display unit. FIG. 7A is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of data used for template matching. FIG. 7B is a diagram schematically showing a specific template. 8A and 8B are enlarged views of the lower left side of the trading card 14, respectively. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example of assessment results. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure for generating feature amounts. FIG. 11A is a diagram showing an example of texture image data. FIG. 11B is a diagram showing an example of area image data. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a feature database.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the card assessment system of one embodiment. The card assessment system of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is a system for assessing trading cards, and includes a card assessment device 10 , a scanner (optical reader) 12 and an external server 16 . The card assessment device 10 and the external server 16 are connected via a network such as the Internet so as to be able to communicate with each other.

The card assessment device 10 performs predetermined image processing based on the card image data of the trading card 14 optically read using the scanner 12 to determine the contents of the trading card 14 (card name, purchase price, etc.). Specifying processing, that is, assessing processing is performed. Data obtained in advance from the external server 16 is used for this assessment process. The card assessment device 10 is realized by installing a predetermined program in, for example, a notebook personal computer or a desktop personal computer. Note that the card assessment device 10 may be configured using an information processing device manufactured as a dedicated device.

The scanner 12 optically reads the surface of the trading card 14 , generates image data (card image) corresponding to the trading card 14 , and outputs it to the card assessment device 10 . The scanner 12 of this embodiment can continuously read a plurality of trading cards 14 . As the scanner 12, for example, a commercially available scanner capable of reading color information and having a reading resolution of about 150 dpi or more can be used.

The external server 16 is installed at a location different from the store where the card assessment device 10 is installed, and provides various data to the card assessment device 10 via the network 18 . Specifically, the external server 16 stores a database containing data required for image processing in assessment processing of the trading card 14 and data required for specifying the purchase price, etc., and responds to a request from the card assessment device 10. These data are transmitted to the card assessment device 10 accordingly.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the card assessment device. As described above, the card assessment apparatus 10 is realized by executing a program in a computer system (see FIG. 3, which will be described later) including a processor, etc. Here, it is realized by executing a program. The configuration of the card assessment device 10 will be described using functional blocks focused on each function. The card assessment device 10 of this embodiment includes a control section 30, a storage section 31, a communication processing section 32, a display section 33, and an input section .

The control unit 30 executes control related to assessment processing of the trading card 14, and includes an image capturing unit 41, a database construction unit 42, an assessment processing unit 43, and a display processing unit 44. The assessment processing unit 43 corresponds to the "accepting unit", the "series specifying unit", and the "feature amount matching unit", and the display processing unit 44 corresponds to the "display control unit".

The image capture unit 41 captures image data of the trading card 14 generated by the scanner 12 .

The database building unit 42 acquires data from the external server 16 via the network 18, and builds a card-related database and an image processing database in the storage unit 31 based on the acquired data. The construction of these card-related database and image processing database is performed, for example, once a week in accordance with the timing at which the data accumulated in the external server 16 is updated.

The assessment processing unit 43 uses the card-related database and the image processing database stored in the storage unit 31 to perform predetermined image processing on the image data captured by the image capturing unit 41 to obtain the trading card 14. identify the content of

The display processing unit 44 performs data processing related to image display on the display unit 33 .

The storage unit 31 stores a card-related database and an image processing database constructed by the database construction unit 42 . The storage unit 31 also stores the image data captured by the image capturing unit 41 .

The communication processing unit 32 performs data communication processing with the external server 16 via the network 18. The display unit 33 displays images such as assessment processing results based on display data output from the display processing unit 44 . The input unit 34 is used to input various operation instructions to the control unit 30 .

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a computer system used in the card assessment device. The illustrated computer system includes a CPU (central processing unit) 101, ROM (read only memory) 102, RAM (temporary memory) 103, HDD (hard disk drive) 104, communication I/F (interface) 105, keyboard 106, mouse. 107 and an LCD (liquid crystal display) 108 . These CPUs 101 and the like are connected to each other by a bus. Note that the HDD 104 is an example of a mass storage device, and a solid state drive or the like may be used instead. Similarly, the LCD 108 is an example of a display device, and an organic EL display device or the like may be used instead.

The CPU 101 performs information processing by executing programs. The ROM 102 stores basic control programs and the like required for the operation of the CPU 101 . The RAM 103 temporarily stores data necessary for information processing by the CPU 101 . These components constitute the control unit 30 described above. The HDD 104 is a large-capacity storage device for storing data, and stores programs and data for realizing each function of the card assessment device 10 described above. The storage unit 31 described above is configured by the HDD 104 . The communication I/F 105 constitutes the communication processing unit 32 , the LCD 108 constitutes the display unit 33 , and the keyboard 106 and mouse 107 constitute the input unit 34 .

FIG. 4(A) is a diagram for explaining the card types and series configuration of trading cards. Trading cards have different main characters, world views, etc., depending on their publishers, for example. Looking at card type 1, which is the type of trading card provided by a certain publisher, there are multiple series 1, 2, 3, etc. due to differences in release dates. is different. There are many types of such trading cards, which are continuously released, and the number of card types and series is increasing day by day. Each series has cards a, b, c, . . . belonging to that series. Trading cards are provided in such a configuration for each card type according to the publisher. Even trading cards with similar contents may have slight differences depending on the series, and the market value may differ depending on the series to which the card belongs.

FIG. 4(B) is a diagram schematically showing a configuration example of a trading card pattern. The exemplified trading card 14 has a title character 51 indicating the card type on the upper left, a design 52 such as a character in the center of the card,

additional characters

53 and 54 around the design 52, and the right side of the card. A characteristic logo mark 55 is arranged on the lower side, and an additional character 56 is arranged on the lower left side of the card. Note that this is just an example, and not all trading cards 14 contain all the same elements, and there are a wide variety of designs and character arrangements depending on the card type.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the card characteristics device. As for the processing of each step, the order thereof may be appropriately changed as long as the result of information processing is not inconsistent, and other processing may be added.

As a premise of the processing described below, it is assumed that a plurality of trading cards belonging to one specific card type are set in the scanner 12. In other words, it is not assumed that trading cards belonging to different card types are set in the scanner 12 in a mixed state. Note that the sorting by card type is performed in advance by, for example, the user or store staff.

The assessment processing unit 43 accepts input of the type (card type) of the trading card to be assessed based on the instruction input by the user using the input unit 34 (step S11). For example, as exemplified in FIG. 6, an operation screen is displayed on the display section 33, and the user can select a card type using the input section 34 from a card type selection tab 61 included therein. Here, candidates such as XYZ King, Pocketman, D Master, and so on are displayed as card type candidates, and an example in which "XYZ King" is selected from among them is shown.

Next, the image reading unit 41 sends an operation instruction to the scanner 12 to read each trading card 14, and fetches image data corresponding to each trading card 14 from the scanner 12 (step S12). The captured image data is temporarily stored in the storage unit 31, for example. Note that image processing such as tilt correction may be performed on the captured image data as appropriate.

Next, the assessment processing unit 43 processes the captured image data based on the characteristic logo mark 55 (see FIG. 4B), which is an example of the characteristic image included in each card for each card type. By performing pattern matching processing, the series to which the card corresponding to the image data belongs is specified (step S13). Specifically, it searches for portions in the image data that match these templates, and identifies the series based on the matching templates. In addition to the pattern matching processing using the logo mark 55, for example, character recognition processing using the

additional characters

53 and 54 as an example of the feature image may be used together to identify the series.

FIG. 7(A) is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of data used for template matching. The storage unit 31 stores an image processing database, in which a plurality of images corresponding to the characteristic logo mark 55 that can be included in each card is stored for each card type (XYZ King, Pocketman, etc.). Templates 1, 2, 3, . . . are included. In addition, feature amount data, the details of which will be described later, is also included for each card type.

FIG. 7(B) is a diagram schematically showing a specific template. Here, six templates are shown as an example, but actually more templates are prepared as required. In addition, each template is associated with information of each corresponding series. In step S13, the series to which the trading card 14 belongs is specified by performing matching processing using the template data corresponding to the card type specified in step S11. By specifying the card type in advance, it is possible to reduce the amount of template data used in the matching process and reduce the calculation time.

Next, the assessment processing unit 43 reads the feature amount database corresponding to the specified series from the image processing database (step S14). Next, the assessment processing unit 43 extracts a feature amount from the image data fetched from the scanner 12, and compares the feature amount with the feature amount database read out in step S14 to obtain a trading card corresponding to the image data. 14 card contents are specified (step S15). The details of matching using the feature amount will be described later.

Next, the assessment processing unit 43 determines whether the accuracy of the matching result is a predetermined value, such as when the matching rate between the feature value of the card specified as the first candidate in the matching with the feature value database and the feature value of the actual trading card 14 is low. If the criteria are not met and additional processing is required to identify the card (step S16; YES), additional information is extracted and the card contents are identified based on that (step S17). If no additional processing is required (step S16; NO), the processing of step S17 is omitted.

Here, as additional information, for example,

additional characters

53, 54, and 56 shown in FIG. 4(B) can be used. As an identification method using these additional information, character recognition processing is performed to convert text data into text data, and match determination can be performed by comparing the text data with collation data prepared in advance. Alternatively, a pattern matching process using a template similar to that described above may be used.

As an example, a method using additional characters 56 will be described with reference to FIG. 8A and 8B are enlarged views of the lower left side of the trading card 14, respectively. Comparing the additional characters 56 included in the trading card 14 of FIG. 8(A) with the additional characters 56 included in the trading card 14 of FIG. 8(B), most of the characters are the same. The part marked with ☆ is marked with “●” in the latter. Based on such differences, card contents can be identified and identified.

In addition to cases where the match rate is low, additional processing may also be required when the difference between the match rates of the first candidate and the second candidate is less than the reference value. For example, if the match rate is expressed as a percentage, there may be cases where the match rate is 50% or less, or where the difference between the first candidate and the second candidate is within 10%.

After executing the above-described processing for each trading card 14, the assessment processing unit 43 reads data such as the purchase price corresponding to the identified card from the card-related database. Then, the display processing unit 44 causes the display unit 33 to display the identification result of the card (step S18). In addition, the assessment processing unit 43 may cause the storage unit 31 to store the data of the identification result.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example of assessment results. This display example includes a card identification result display section 62 including model number, card name, rarity, and purchase price as card identification results, and a card display section 62 for displaying image data corresponding to the card selected using the input section 34. An image display section 63 is included. Note that the rarity is information indicating the rarity of the card. For example, items with a low distribution number have a high rarity. It is expressed as XX rare here.

Here, there is no particular limitation on the feature amount used for matching the trading card 14 in step 14 described above, and feature amounts obtained by various methods can be applied. A feature amount as an example used in this embodiment will be described in detail below.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure for generating feature quantities. The processing here is executed by the assessment processing unit 43 . A feature database obtained by performing similar processing is stored in advance in the external server 16 and provided to the card assessment device 10 .

The assessment processing unit 43 reduces the size of the captured image data (step S31). This processing is intended to reduce the amount of information as an image and lighten the processing load, but may be omitted in principle.

Next, the assessment processing unit 43 extracts the range excluding the portion corresponding to the outer periphery of the card from the image data (step S32). This is intended to cut out a stable range because noise may enter the outer peripheral portion depending on the reading accuracy of the scanner 12, but in principle it may be omitted.

Next, the assessment processing unit 43 converts the image data into gray values (step S33). Since the image data is obtained as a color image at the time of reading by the scanner 12, it is intended to reduce the amount of information and lighten the processing load by converting this into a grayscale image having only luminance values.

Next, the assessment processing unit 43 applies an arbitrary texture filter to the image data converted into the grayscale image to generate texture image data (step S34). Various known texture filters can be employed. An example of texture image data is shown in FIG.

Next, the assessment processing unit 43 extracts pixels having luminance values that match the reference value from the texture image data as regions (step S35). For example, if the brightness value is specified in a numerical range from 0 to 255, pixels having a brightness value in the range of 90 or more and 255 or less are extracted as an example. An example of area image data is shown in FIG. A region shown in black is a region having a constant luminance value.

The assessment processing unit 43 stores the texture image data and the area image data obtained as described above in the storage unit 31 as feature amount data corresponding to the card (step S36). This feature amount data is used for the matching process in step S15 described above. For example, the matching rate of areas having a certain luminance value in the area image data is compared, and when a matching rate equal to or higher than a reference value (for example, 90% or higher) is obtained, the contents of the card corresponding to the feature amount data are evaluated. identified as a result.

Further, feature amount data is obtained in advance for a plurality of trading cards by similar processing, and the feature amount data are classified by card type and by series and stored in the external server 16 as an image processing database. , is transmitted to the card assessment device 10 and stored in the storage unit 31 .

An example of the feature amount database is shown in FIG. For example, looking at the card type "XYZ King", the feature amount data corresponding to this card type is classified into series 1, 2, 3, and so on. , c . . . are stored. Then, for example, if the matching rate of the card a is equal to or higher than the reference value in the collation process, the contents of the card corresponding to the image data are specified as "card a", and the corresponding purchase information, name, etc. are specified.

According to the above embodiment, it is possible to quickly and accurately assess trading cards. Specifically, first, a card type is selected, a series is specified from the selected card type, and matching is performed using feature amount data based on the series, thereby shortening the calculation time. Further, when the accuracy of identification by the feature amount data is low, the identification processing is additionally executed based on the additional information, so the accuracy of card identification can be further improved. In addition, the process for specifying the card type and the data used for it is separated from the process for specifying the series and the data used for it, so even if a new series appears for a certain card type, basically it will be the same. It is sufficient to add the data used to identify the new series. Therefore, there is also the advantage of minimizing the impact on the entire system and facilitating system updates.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the content of the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various modifications within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the image data obtained by the scanner 12 is used immediately, but it does not necessarily have to be used immediately. For example, image data obtained using another scanner device or camera that is not connected to the card assessment device 10 may be provided to the card assessment device 10 via data communication or a storage medium such as a USB memory. In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the card type input is selected from the tab, but the character input may be performed directly or input using voice recognition software or the like.

10: Card assessment device 12: Scanner 14: Trading card 16: External server 18: Network 30: Control unit 31: Storage unit 32: Communication processing unit 33: Display unit 34: Input unit 41: Image capture unit 42: Database construction unit 43: Assessment processing unit 44: Display processing unit 51: Title character 52:

Design

53, 54, 56: Additional characters 55: Logo mark 61: Card type selection tab 62: Specific result display unit 63: Card image display unit

Claims

A program for assessing the contents of a trading card having a plurality of card types with different themes and a plurality of series for each card type,
to the computer,
a first step of receiving input of said card type of a target trading card to be assessed;
A feature image containing a specific pattern is extracted from the card image obtained by optically reading the target trading card, and the series to which the target trading card belongs is specified based on the extracted feature image. 2 steps and
a third step of extracting a feature amount from the card image of the target trading card and comparing the extracted feature amount with a feature amount database to specify the contents of the target trading card;
a fourth step of displaying the contents of the target trading card identified in the third step on a display device;
The program that causes the to run.
The second step extracts the feature image using image processing data corresponding to the card type input in the first step.
A program according to claim 1.
The feature image in the second step includes a logo mark image or a character image,
3. A program according to claim 1 or 2.
The processing in the second step is performed by pattern matching processing and / or character recognition processing,
A program according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
In the third step, the feature amount is collated using data corresponding to the series specified in the second step among data included in the feature amount database.
A program according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The feature amount in the third step is obtained by extracting a texture image, which is a grayscale image obtained by performing predetermined image processing on the card image, and/or an area having a luminance value within a predetermined range in the texture image. is an area image that is
A program according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The content of the target trading card displayed in the fourth step includes at least the name and purchase price of the target trading card.
A program according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
In the third step, if the accuracy of the comparison result between the feature amount of the trading card and the feature amount database does not satisfy a predetermined standard, following the third step, the card image of the target trading card includes: a fifth step of extracting an additional information image, which is an image showing additional information to be provided, and identifying the contents of the trading card based on the additional information image;
A program according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
1. A computer-implemented method for assessing the content of trading cards in which there are multiple card types with different themes and multiple series for each card type, the method comprising:
a first step of receiving input of said card type of a target trading card to be assessed;
A feature image containing a specific pattern is extracted from the card image obtained by optically reading the target trading card, and the series to which the target trading card belongs is specified based on the extracted feature image. 2 steps and
a third step of extracting a feature amount from the card image of the target trading card and comparing the extracted feature amount with a feature amount database to specify the contents of the target trading card;
a fourth step of displaying the contents of the target trading card identified in the third step on a display device;
card assessment methods, including;
A device for assessing the contents of a trading card having a plurality of card types with different themes and a plurality of series for each card type,
a reception unit that receives input of the card type of the target trading card to be assessed;
A series in which a characteristic image containing a specific pattern is extracted from the card image obtained by optically reading the target trading card, and the series to which the target trading card belongs is specified based on the extracted characteristic image. a specific part;
a feature matching unit that identifies the content of the target trading card by extracting a feature from the card image of the target trading card and matching the extracted feature with a feature database;
a display control unit that causes a display device to display the contents of the identified target trading card;
A card assessment device, comprising:
a card assessment device according to claim 10;
an optical reading device connected to the card assessment device, optically reading the target trading card and supplying the card image to the card assessment device;
an external server communicably connected to the card assessment device via a network and transmitting data for constructing the feature amount database to the card assessment device;
Card assessment system, including;